


what was simple in the moonlight (by the morning never is)

by LastVerse



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Ficlet, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-23
Updated: 2012-09-23
Packaged: 2017-11-14 20:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/519418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastVerse/pseuds/LastVerse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma comes home to find Regina having a nightmare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	what was simple in the moonlight (by the morning never is)

Emma shrugs off her jacket and drops it onto a couch, too tired to care about the tongue lashing she’ll get tomorrow for leaving her clothes lying around. It’s late, and apparently dating the mayor doesn’t excuse you from the endless paperwork, so she’s ready to crawl into bed and hibernate until the weekend. 

Before going to sleep, she checks on Henry, pushing his hair out of his face and planting a kiss on his forehead. He stirs a little, but doesn’t wake up. Thank God, she thinks, shutting his door and heading down the hallway. It may be hard to get Henry to go to bed in the first place, but it’s nearly impossible once he wakes up in the middle of the night.

When she gets to Regina’s bedroom she sees that the brunette has already fallen asleep too. She walks into the bathroom and gets ready to go to bed. She’s almost finished buttoning up her pyjamas when she hears a desperate cry. She pokes her head out of the bathroom, eyes scanning the bedroom. Regina is still on the bed, but there is no doubt that the sound came from her. The peaceful, relaxed expression she wore when Emma walked in is gone and is replaced by that troubled look she wears far too often. Her arms are wrapped around her body and she is curled up as if protecting herself from an invisible attacker.

Within seconds, Emma kneeling beside the bed, “Regina?” she whispers, placing a hand on Regina’s cheek. 

Regina flinches at the contact, and struggles in the comforter entangling herself in it. “No, stop. Stop. Please, I’m sorry! Just stop!” She cries again, louder this time.

Emma frowns and begins to gently shake her girlfriend. “Gina, wake up,” she whispers, throwing a glance over her shoulder to make sure Henry hasn’t heard the noise and decided to investigate. Regina’s body is shaking with her sobs now and she still won’t wake up.

Emma sighs. This is the part of a relationship she doesn’t know how to handle. Evil queen or not, Emma knows Regina has been through a lot, even if she never talks about it. In fact, these nightmares are one of the only ways Emma gets a glimpse of Regina’s past. Even though she’s always run away from stuff like this, Emma wants to know everything about the mayor, good or bad. Maybe one day, she’ll make Regina tell her who hurt her so badly, but not tonight. 

She gently untangles Regina from the comforter and crawls underneath. She only hopes that she doesn’t cause even more damage with what she’s about to do next. She wraps her arms around the brunette and pulls her close, cradling the shaking body with her own. Emma rubs Regina’s back in gentle circles, keeping her close and whispering the only thing she can think of, “It’s okay, it’s only a dream. I’m here.”

The words seem to have a calming effect on the older woman. Her body relaxes and eventually, the sobs subside. Regina, still asleep, shifts to mould her body to fit perfectly with Emma’s. They stay like that until Emma is sure the nightmare has passed. Then, she presses a soft kiss to the top of her girlfriend’s head and falls asleep.


End file.
